A Flavorful Grass-Fed Burger from Patty and Bun in Greenwich Village

Posted by Nick Solares, November 17, 2009 at 10:00 AM

[Photographs: Nick Solares]

Despite the numerous burger spots that have opened in the last year and New York City's seemingly endless appetite for America's favorite sandwich, opening a burger restaurant is anything but a sure thing. Even if your hamburger is very good, it can be a tough market. Take City Burger: It shuttered within a year of opening despite being the first to sell the vaunted Black Label blend from Pat La Frieda. Although a wave of publicity swirled around the place as a result of the special blend, many positive reviews and being featured on Nightline were not enough to keep it viable.

I feel for those entering the crucible that the burger marketplace has become, especially because doing so these days tends to make one's competition some of the city's most adroit and powerful restaurateurs—restaurateurs such as Danny Meyer and his Shake Shack Juggernaut, or Steve Hanson's newly minted Bill's Bar and Burger.

Patty and Bun (P&B) opened just over a week ago on West 8th Street with none of the hoopla that may surround other burger joint openings in the city—Bill's Bar and Burger, to cite the most obvious and recent example. But P&B, which bills itself as an "American Tavern," is as compelling, albeit in a different way. While Bills had the weight of the BR Guest empire behind it (replete with a publicity department and a kitchen full of chefs) and produces a classic burger using tried and true technique and ingredients—griddle cooked smash burgers using La Frieda beef—P&B has shrewdly taken a different approach. By offering grilled beef that is, as the menu describes it, "pastured" (read, grass fed), on homemade buns, P&B appeals to a different constituency. If you are a locavore concerned with the environmental impact of corn fed beef, P&B makes a burger that will satisfy your palate and your conscience.

I sampled the P&B burger with American cheese, cooked medium rare. The menu states that all burgers are prepared "medium and juicy inside," but rest assured that other temperatures will be honored. My medium rare order was spot on and juicy—juicy enough to lead me to believe that even at medium it would be so.

But I don't prefer rare and medium rare burgers simply because they are juicier; I prefer them because they offer more flavor and a more perceptible textural contrast between crust and innards. And the P&B burger has plenty of both—the impressively thick crust, with beautifully latticed hatch marks, contrasted beautifully with the tender, chunky grind. The flavor of the beef itself was also compelling: hearty, salty, and beefy with a pronounced minerality. The grass fed beef betrayed none of the negative traits pasture raised burger can have, such as a herbaceous, soapy character, or a leanness due to a lack of inter-muscular fat in the animal. The thick blanketing of American cheese was melted, but not to the point of being molten. It was superfluous; the beef was flavorful enough without it.

The superb bun, described on the menu as a five drop tequila bun, is made in-house. Despite the unorthodox nature of the bread, it works very well with the thick patty, easily containing it. Texturally, it has a dense outer crust but it is chewy and compliant, providing a contrast to the airy interior. I may prefer generic white squishy buns, but the B at P&B has its own charms and virtues. Don't miss the french fries, which are as good or better than anything I have had at dedicated burger joints. Thick, crispy with a creamy interior and perfectly seasoned, the only knock is that the portion size is a bit stingy.

P&B may be just over a week old and this review a preliminary report—I intend to return and sample some of the other menu offerings—but my initial impression is extremely positive. I feel the burger is worthy of inclusion in the pantheon of hamburgers in New York City. And not just by virtue of its locavore-approved grass fed beef. The burger tastes great and the unique construction differentiates itself from its competitors.

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Tags: AHT reviews, NYC, Patty and Bun, reviews